Steam-engine



DE WITT C. CONKLING.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, Isla.

Patented June 29, 1920.

INV NTOR wif@ assists in the operation nso .for transformation into UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE.

DE 'WITT C. CONKLING, 0FNEW YORK, N. Y.

STEAMLENGINE.

Application led April 29,

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, DE Wrr'r C. CoNK- LING, residing at New York in the county of New York and State of Nzew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Improved Steam-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a and steam engine.

The object of the invention is to provide an engine in which oil and steam are employed as the power generating mediums in different c linders, said engine being anv adaptation o or in certain respects an improvement over the structureshown and described in my combined oil co-pending application Serial No. 197,943, filed October 22, 1917.

A further object is to provide an en ine combining what is hereinafter referre to as an oil cylinler with what is hereinafter ref erred to as a steam cylinder, and to provide certain relationships between the two cylinders such l.that the operationof one of the other.

A more detailed object is to provide an engine including two cylinders as referred to and lin which the cooling water of the oil cylinder, after absorbing rom the heat of the oil cylinder, becomes the heated medium and in which the hot exhaust gases cylinder become a heating mefrom the oil cylinder dium for maintaining cylinder, and further, in which the exhaust steam from the steam cylinder serves forr heating the air-intake of the oil cylinder.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or 'less specific than those referred to above, will be in part'obvious and inpart pointed out in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principles, constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims. l

In the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and in which I have shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of 'the invention:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a two cylinder four cycle engine constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention, and

Fig. 2 is a diagram indicating the rela- Specication of Letters Patent.

`uected 180 degrees apart.

steam in the steam the heat of the steam Patented June 29, 1920.

191s. serial m. 231,351.

tive functional operations in the respective cycles of the two cylinders.

It should be pointed out here that the essential characteristic of this invention, aside from that of generating steam from water by the heat incident to the com res- .s1on of air, which principle is fully set Orth 1n the co-pending application a` ove referred to, 1s that of employing such adevice in conjunction with a device which is ada ted for the `utilization of oil or a volatile yliquid as its fuel medium, and that the machine elements employed for carrying out this principle may take any form of construction found to be best adapted for producing the greatest elliciency.

In describing which is. illustrated in the drawings formin part hereof, the reference character L in icates the oil cylinder while the reference character G indicates the steam cylinder. The reference character H lindicates a crank shaft which is common to the two cylinders land to which pistons as 1 and 2 are connected, the crank shaft being shaped in such a manner that the istons are conhe piston 1 will stand at its lower position while the piston 2 stands at its uppermost position, and vice versa. The oil cylinder L is provided with a water jacket 3 into which water is constantly 'fed as -through a pipe 4. Air-inlet and exhaust valves 5 and 6.1espectively are provided. These may be connected to be mechanically operated' from the crank shaft H in any manner desired. A

The fuel oil is supplied through a pipe 7 and is adapted to be forced into the cylinder by means of a suitable injector. his injector may be of any suitable type but for convenience is indicated as being the same as is shown and descr'bed in the above referred to application.

The steam cylinder is jacket 8 which 1s connecte means, as by the pipe 9, port of the oil cylinder. The hot exhaust gases from the oil cylinder thus pass into the jacket 8 and maintain the walls of the steam cylinder at a high temperature. suitable outlet pi e, as 10, from the jacket 8 is provided. uitable inlet and exhaust valves, as V11 and 12, are provided by means of which the air ,may be fed into the cylin- (provided with a by any suitable with the exhaust the simple embodiment ward end of der and the exhaust steam fed out of the cylinder. These valves 11 and 12 may be connected to be operated from the shaft H in the usual, or any desired, manner.

The water from which to generate steam within the cylinder G is fed through a pipe or other device, as 13. The pipe 13 leads from the water jacket 3 of the oil cylinder to an injector device 14 for the steam cylinder. be made has thus already served the purpose of cooling the oil cylinder and has become heated so that it may now be more readily transformed into steam.

The injector device 14, like the injector device of the oil cylinder, may be of any suitable or approved type. For convenience it also is shown to be the same as that illustrated and described in said co-pending ap lication.

t includes a plunger having a head 15 which works within a small cylinder 16 and a stem 17 which extends from the rear end of the plunger outwardly through the rear end of the cylinder 16 and into connection with one arm, as 18, of a bell-crank lever, the opposite arm 19 of which is connected to an operating rod`20. The operating rod carries a roller 21 at its lower end disposed to ride upon the changing surface of a cam 22. The cam 22 is connected to be driven by the shaft H in any approved manner.

As the injector plunger head 15 moves forwardly, (tothe left) it uncovers the' water inlet port 23 and allows a supply of water to fill the rear end of the cylinder 16.

, As the head 15 moves backwardly, (to the right) it closes the port 23 and causes the water from the rear end of the cylinder 16 to pass through a passageway 24 (formed through the head) and into the space within the cylinder 16 in front of the head. A suitable Check valve 25 is carried by the head to prevent return How of the water backwardly through the passageway 24. As the' head is again moved forwardly the water from the forward end of the cylin-k der 16 is squirted out through the opening 26 and into the compression chamber 27'. As illustrated, the piston 2 is about to descend on the air-intake stroke. The timing of the operation of the injector, 'as deterv mined by the cam 22, is such that the injector head stands substantially throughout the power, exhaust, and intake strokes of the piston 2. As the com 22 drops `o the higher part of the cam and allows the injector head to move backwardly under the force ofy a suitable spring 28, to transpose the water from the rearto the forl the injector cylinder. Approximately just as the compressionstroke is completed the roller 21 will ride again 0n The water from which the steam is to return, or

the use of oil in the oil in its forward position ression stroke begins Vthe roller to the high part of the cam and cause the injector head to move forwardly for suddenly injecting the water into the compression chamber 27. At this time the air within the compression chamber is substantially at its maximum compression and maximum heat. The water entering this highly heated air through the small opening 26 will be more or less atomized and will be heated far above the steaming point so that as soon as the power, stroke of the piston begins, and the pressure is thereby relieved to a certain extent, the water w'ill flash instantly into steam` and will drive the piston 2 downwardly. I

By properly proportioning the various elements, that is the amount of water injected at each operation of the piston 2, the heat of the water, the heat of the air, the degree of pressure, the suddenness with which the air is compressed, the speed and condition of the water injected, the timing of the piston with regard to the movements of the injector, and etc., a high degree of efficiency may readily be obtained for the steam cyl inder and the same is true with regard to cylinder.

The supply of air for the oil cylinder, entering through the tube 29 may be heated to a greater or less extent by the provision of a tube 30 surrounding the tube 29 and connected with the exhaust steam outlet of the steam (Vlinder.

The suppg' of air for the steam cylinder may be heated, if desired, by being first passed through a tube 31 which lies contiguous to some heated part of the engine.4

By referring to the diagram Fig. 2, it will be seen that the operation of the engine is as follows As the oil piston moves upwardl on compression the steam piston moves tfbwnwardly on its intake stroke. When the oil piston has reached its maximum compression, fired, and moves downwardly on its power stroke the steam piston moves upwardly to compression, the power stroke of the oil piston serving to drive the steam piston to compression suddenness. As the oil piston moves again upwardly on its exhauststroke the steam piston moves downwardly on its` power stroke. The power stroke of the steam piston thus is required to perform comparatively little work. As the oil piston returns downwardly on its intake stroke the steam piston moves upwardly on exhaust, and the full operation is again repeated as the engine continues to run. j j

At its. point of vmaximum compression the pressure within lthe steam cylinder is approximately four or five hundred .pounds per square inch and. its temperature is in the neighborhood lof one thousand degrees F. The water passing through the pipe 13 130 with great force and naeaaie stroke, it is instantly transformed into steamthus adding a pressure of vseveral hundred pounds and giving a powerful working stroke to the piston.

Any tendency of the steam cylinder bei come cooled is counteracted by the presence of the hot exhaust gases from the oil cylinder within the jacket 8. The exhaust stroke of the oil piston, as above explained, is timed to occur during the power stroke of the steam piston, and in this manner the greatest heat within the jacket 8 occurs contemporaneously with the greatest heat absorbing function within the steam cylinder. The proper temperature for the steam cylinder may thus be readily maintained by regulating the temperature of the exhaust gases. passing thereinto or by any other suitable means.

It should be added that although the oil cylinder is shown to be of a depends upon the heat of compression for igniting its explosive charge, nevertheless the full spirit of this invention would be equally well performed by employing any other type of explosive engine. An engine employing electrically operated spark plugs might readily be used.

It will be seen from the -above that by this invention one or more extra cylinders added in an engine and each at least equal to the work of the explosive cylinder without in any way impairing the effectiveness of the explosive cylinder and at no `additioned cost in fuel.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. l

Also, although the engine shown and de scribed herein contains only two cylinders, nevertheless it will beapparent that any number of cylinders may be as readily employed, either in multip es of two or otherwise. Where an'uneven unmber of cylinders is employed, there may be an excess either of steam or explosive cylinders.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An engine comprisin a cylinder, a piston movable in the'cyllnder,l means to move thepiston in one may readily be perform work type which j direction for com pressing air within the cylinder to thereby generate heat within the cylinder, means whereby to generate steam within said cylinder by said heat for pressing against said piston to return the piston 1n the opposite direction, and the engine also comprising a second cylinder having connections with the first cylinder for maintaining the heat of the first cylinder.

2. An engine comprising an explosion cylinder and a steam c linder, a piston movable in each of sai cylinders, a crank shaft connecting said pistons, the piston in thel steam cylinder being adapted upon its upstroke to compress air within the steam cylinder to thereby generate heat within said steam cylinder, means whereby to gencrate steam within said steam cylinder by said heat for forcing the piston in sa1d steam cylinder downwardly, and connections between the explosion cylinder and the steam cylinder for maintaining the steam cylinder.

3. An engine comprising an explosion cylinder and a steam cylinder, a piston movable in each of said cylinders, a crank shaft connecting said pistons, the piston in the steam cylinder being adapted upon its upstroke to compress air within the steamcylinder to thereby generate heat within said steam cylinder, means for forcing a quantity of water into the steam cylinder among said heated compressed air to thereby generate steam withinsaid steam cylinder for forcing the piston in said steam cylinder downwardly, and connections between the explosion cylinder and the steam cylinder for maintaining the heat of the steam cylinder.

4:. An engine comprising an explosion cylinder and a steam cylinder, a piston mov-I able in each of said cylinders,the piston in the steam cylinder being adapted upon its upstroke to compressy air lwithin the steam cylinder to thereby generate heat within said steam cylinder, means whereby to generate steam within said steam cylinder by said heat for forcing the piston in said steam cylinder downwardly, connections between said steam cylindeI-and said evplosion cylinder whereby the products of combustion from the explosion cylinder are made to maintain the heat of the steam cylinder, ltogether with connections between the piston of the explosion cylinder and the piston of the steam cylinder whereby the exhaust stroke of the explosion cylinder accompanies the vsteam driven stroke of the piston in the steam cylinder.

In testimony whereof I aix my ,signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DE WITT C. CONKLING.

Witnesses: v

L. Gnssronn HANDY,

S; J AUMILLER.

the heat of 

